From a distance, it looks as if Abhinav Aggarwal is conducting an orchestra, with his hands waving rhythmically in the air. But when the 23-year-old moves his hands, rather than the high and low notes in a symphony, it’s the sound of a drone that hits the ear.

Flying around in his 16x10 conference room, the drone relies on ‘Fluid Motion’ technology developed by Aggarwal’s start-up, Trutech Webs.

The gesture-based technology enables gadgets such as drones, computers and mobile phones to be controlled through gestures.

“Touch, which is the biggest selling point for devices now, is slowly making way for gestures. As gestures come naturally to everyone, ease of use is the USP of this technology,” Aggarwal, who is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company, told BusinessLine .

Aggarwal did not reveal the exact price of the technology, but said it is much lower than what’s already in the market.

The company had developed two types of gesture-based drones to showcase the fluid motion technology — one with a close range, where the controller has to stand 3-4 feet from a sensor, and the other with a slightly greater range (10-15 feet). The drones can fly as far as 1 km and as high as 500-750 feet.

Commercial use

Drones are finding commercial use in a big way. Pawan Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp, used them to lift the veil off the company’s new two-wheeler, Hastur.

Drones have also found applications in security, delivery, cleaning of windows of high-rises, and in TV shows and events.

Trutech Webs’ gesture-based computing is being used by Reliance Industries at its boardroom in Jamnagar, while Vodafone India has deployed it at centres across the country for activities such as moving through a presentation or closing window blinds. Rolls Royce and Toyota also use this technology.

The cost varies depending on usage, as the technology can be embedded with a user’s existing gadgets.

Looking beyond gaming

Currently, motion-based technology is used heavily in gaming but they are expensive due to the high computing power and chips used.

A couple of original equipment manufacturers are also interested in integrating the software in their devices.

Trutech Webs has already tied up with a mobile handset manufacturer for use of this technology.

“We will make an announcement in the first quarter of calendar 2015,” he said, without disclosing the identity of the manufacturer.